More Than Enough for Me
by MauMauKa
Summary: Carlos is more than enough for Jake.


_**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long! This is the tale I wrote for Makia's Christmas present. I've gotten her permission to post it. Some things are OOC. Enjoy!—MauMauKa**_

**More Than Enough for Me**

"It would help a lot if one of us was married" Jackie sighed. "Or at least had a significant other."

"Excuse me, sister dear? My other is _very_ significant!"

The two Jensen siblings were sitting at Jackie Jensen's kitchen table. An engraved invitation lay on the table in front of them, and it was this invitation that had prompted their discussion.

Jackie shook her head. "You know what I mean, Jake. You really think an alternative lifestyle is what they had in mind? Unless you plan to stuff Cougar into a dress and force him to pose as your fiancée…" she choked when she caught sight of the look on Jensen's face. "Jesus, Jake! I was just _kidding!_"

"It _could_ work, though…" Jensen's face was plastered with a psychotic grin that announced that he was the grip of one of his SUPER BRILLIANT IDEAS! "In fact, it might be just the thing! Cougs has done drag before. It was on an infiltration we had to do down in Argentina. Nobody knew the difference once he shaved and put on a pair of heels. In fact, he looked pretty damn sexy like that."

Jackie groaned. "Leave it to you to think up a way for you to have fun with this, you perv! And besides, it's a totally different situation! This is _not_ about national security, and it's _not_ about bringing down an evil genius who wants to start a world war; this is just about us dealing with Mom's relatives, who happen to be interfering busybodies."

"_Rich _interfering busybodies. Rich interfering busybodies who hold Senate seats and who more or less made it clear they think you're an unfit mother."

"Don't be paranoid, Jake. We need to deal with this sensibly."

"I _am _being sensible. The only reason they asked us over was to get a look at me and Emmy, right? They want to see if she's happy, and if there's anything resembling nuclear family support nearby, right? Well, the only reason I'm not married to Cougar right now is that it's still illegal in most parts of the world, and we haven't done an op in Amsterdam yet. Just let me ask him." Jensen flipped open his cell phone as Jackie dropped her face into her hands. "Just be sure and tell him it wasn't my idea, okay?"

"Don't worry. He already knows you're the sane one….hey, Clay! Is Cougs there? Can you put him on for a minute, please?" Jensen grinned as he gave Jackie a thumbs-up. "Hello? _Hola, chuleta!"_ Jensen held the phone away from his ear a moment and chuckled as Spanish swearing trickled out of the receiver. "He loves it when I call him that. Listen Cougs, have I got a job for you!"

Jackie never found out exactly how her brother did it, but by the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Jake's very macho, Mexican-badass boyfriend was sitting on her bed in a dark red dress, getting his nails painted by Jolene while Jake French-braided his hair and she applied makeup to his newly shaven skin. "I'm scared to think what I owe you for this", she mumbled to the sniper as she worked on lining his eyes with kohl.

"It's okay."

"All I had to do was tell him about Senator Uncle George", Jensen snickered. "If there's anything Cougs hates, its people in Congress."

"Why is that?" Jolene asked.

"'Cause they start the wars. And most of the wars they start are for money." Jensen finished the braid and nodded in satisfaction. "There. Not as attractive as some of the _other_ braids I've done on you, but quite a respectable job, if I do say so myself."

Jackie noted the color that rushed into the sniper's cheeks with interest. It was probably something else she shouldn't ask about. She worked instead on finishing the makeup job. Jake had been right; without his facial hair, Cougar looked much younger and quite pretty. It helped that his hands and wrists were so slender and delicate. Jackie rubbed blush onto Cougar's cheekbones and envied the hell out of the sniper's long, curling eyelashes. It was royally unfair that a man should be gifted with such lashes, especially since Jackie's own required three coats of mascara before they even reached half that length.

"Okay, you're done" Jolene said, sitting back. "You just sit and let them dry. What time do you guys have to be there?"

"The party officially starts at eight. We've been asked to be there around seven-thirty."

"Call us when you can leave and we'll phone in for more pizza." Jolene and Pooch had accepted Jackie's invitation to come to New Hampshire instead of having the Jensen siblings and Cougar come to California. Clay and Aisha had also accepted an invitation, and the two of them and Pooch were parked in front of ESPN in the living room. Of the three women, Aisha alone had displayed no interest in helping with Cougar's transformation. The only thing she had done was pull Jensen aside and put a knife to his throat, saying "I hope you realize just _how much_ that man loves you. If you EVER cheat on him or betray him in any way, I will cut off your balls and feed them to you. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Jensen squeaked, for once not being a smartass. He had no intention of cheating on the love of his life. It had not, as Jackie had predicted, been easy to talk Cougar into his Brilliant Plan, but he had finally won him over by offering the best he had to give. In exchange for this little performance, Jensen was to bottom for a month.

"I better go get Emmy dressed" Jackie said as she sat back on her heels. "Not to mention me. See you guys in a few. And Carlos, you really do look lovely like that."

"See? Jackie agrees" Jensen said with a grin as Cougar rolled his eyes. "So, what should I call you? Obviously I can't call my charming, sweet, demure fianceé 'Cougar'. How about Carla? Or maybe Charlotte?."

"Carla" Cougar said firmly. It was bad enough that he was doing this; he wasn't going to be stuck with a _gringa_ name on top of everything else.

"Carla" Jensen repeated with a leer. "My adorable, _delicious_ little fiancee! How am I ever going to keep my hands to myself tonight? Comely, cute, _cuddly_ Carla…OUCH! Don't stomp on me with those things!" He rubbed the spot where one of Cougar's stiletto heels had slammed into his foot and pouted. Jolene left the room shaking her head.

By six-thirty, they were ready to go, Jake in the nicest civilian suit he could dig up, Jackie in a modest green dress, and Emily in blue velvet. And Cougar of course. Clay guffawed at the sight of them. "Pooch, get the camera! We got a real Kodak moment here!"

"I wouldn't do that, Colonel" Pooch said has he caught the look on Cougar's face. "Not unless you want some 'stray bullet' damage in the near future."

"Don't spill anything on that dress" Aisha said. "It's my favorite."

Cougar fixed her with a stony gaze until she coughed and turned back to the TV. Jensen snickered. "As of right now, it's officially _my_ favorite too. We'll keep it clean."

Emily studied her new "Aunt" with sharp eyes. She had been told that Uncle Cougar and Uncle Jake were playing a game, and that she was to stick close to them and not tell anyone that "Aunt Carla" was really Uncle Cougar in a dress, but clearly her seven-year-old mind was teeming with questions. "You look beautiful", she said at last.

For the first time, Cougar's face broke into a smile, "_Gracias_, Emily. So do you."

Emily left her mother's side and took Cougar's hand, assuming personal responsibility for this new member of her family. Cougar folded the little girl's fingers into his own and beamed and for once the word _radiant_ wasn't just a cliché. "Dear God, you're _beautiful_!" Jensen breathed as he leaned forward to plant a kiss on Cougar's lips. Cougar evaded him by tilting his head and saying, "Lipstick."

All of them piled into Jackie's SUV. It wasn't until they were down the driveway and on their way that Cougar finally asked, "Who are these people, Jackie?"

"Relatives of our mother's. We only found out about them a few months ago when Emmy had to do a genealogy project at school. They disowned Mom when she ran off to marry our father at seventeen. They never knew about us—about Jake and me—or about what happened later with our Dad. Mom was too proud to tell them, I guess. Now they're curious and they want to see Emmy. They already think I'm no good as a mother because I never married Emily's father. I never married Emily's father because he was a drunk and a druggie, but that doesn't seem to matter to them."

"I wanted to stay home" Emily chimed in. "But Mom said it was a command performance. What's a command performance, Uncle Jake?"

Jensen chuckled. "It's when someone says 'Jump!' and you ask, 'How high?'"

"It means we have to", Jackie said as she smoothed Emily's hair.

"Mom is exactly right. Now who am I?" Jensen pointed to himself.

"You're my Uncle Jake."

"And who is she?" he pointed to Cougar.

"Uncle Cougar in a dress."

"And what do we call Uncle Cougar in a dress?"

"Aunt Carla."

"Very good. And who are you?"

"I'm Emily. I'm seven years old. I like pizza, soccer, and movies. And this dress itches my behind, Mom!"

"I'm sorry, Em. You're just gonna have to deal with it for a while. We won't stay long…you'll be back eating pizza and playing with your new Wii before you know it." Jackie rolled her eyes. Jensen never made a visit without giving Emily some totally fancy, feature-loaded electronic toy.

They drove through the New Hampshire countryside for nearly an hour before Jake turned onto a side road. "Okay, this is it. Here we go."

They drove on and on up a winding dirt road until they were suddenly flooded with light as they rounded the last curve. Emily let out a gasp. "Oh Mom! It's a CASTLE!"

It wasn't, of course, but the gray stone house _was_ a nice-sized mansion. Cougar whistled and Jackie gave a mirthless laugh. "Turns out our mother grew up here. Pretty impressive, isn't it?"

Jake reached out and squeezed his sister's hand. The bitterness in Jackie's voice was unmistakable. Where had these people been when the Jensens had been so desperately poor? Why hadn't they expressed an interest in seeing their own grandchildren?

They pulled up into the circular driveway in front of the house. Immediately, several Hispanic valets came over and offered to park the SUV. Jensen handed off the keys and immediately helped Cougar out of the car, wondering what was going through his lover's mind right now. Without the dress, makeup and heels, the Vandenburg family might well have assumed he was one of the help. But as Jensen's "fiancée", he would have to be treated as an equal.

"Jacqueline!" an older woman, tall and thin with every strand of her blond hair in place, came forward to take Jackie's hands and kiss the air near her cheek. "How lovely to see you!

"Thanks for inviting us, Margaret" Jackie replied as she returned the air-kiss. "This is my brother Jake and his girlfriend Carla, and this is my daughter Emily."

"Of course!" Margaret squatted down and put her hands on Emily's shoulders. Emily blinked at her and looked up at her mother. When Jackie nodded, the little girl allowed the older woman to kiss her cheek. "What a pretty girl you are! You look almost exactly like your Grandmother Isabel! How old are you dear?"

"Seven. I like soccer, pizza, and movies."

"That's lovely. Do you do well in school?"

Emily nodded.

"That's just wonderful. And you're Jacob?" she asked as she straightened up.

"Yes, ma'am. Jake Jensen. This is my fiancée, Carla Alvarez" he put his arm around Cougar and drew the sniper against his side. Margaret shook his hand and then Cougar's. Was it Jensen's imagination or did the woman flinch a bit when she made contact with the Cougar's skin? "Welcome to our home."

"Thank you" Cougar replied in his accented English.

"We're so glad you all could make it." Margaret turned and gestured to the house. "Shall we go inside? Mother is dying to meet you."

Jackie and Jensen exchanged glances as they followed Margaret into the house. She led them past a huge, curving staircase and through a living room that was approximately double the size of Jackie's and looked like the lobby of a Hilton hotel. Their progress was halting as she stopped to greet several more people and introduce them. "This is Jaqueline, and this is Jacob, poor Isabel's children. No, we just found out! You know she cut off all contact…yes, it probably was his doing. Well, we must be going. Mother will be so upset if she doesn't get to see them before she goes to bed."

Finally, the older woman led them into a small room off the far end of the living room. "This is Mother's room. She wanted to speak to you before she went in to the party." She knocked at the door. "Mother? They're here."

"Well, bring them in!" barked a voice that sounded eerily like Katharine Hepburn's. "Don't dawdle around outside!"

The old woman sat in a motorized wheelchair. A silver-haired man stood behind her and smiled at Margaret as she ushered them in. The old lady was tiny and wizened, but her posture was perfect and her pale blue eyes were sharp and clear. Her snow-white hair was piled elegantly on top of her head. "So" she said brusquely "You're Isabel's children."

"That's right" Jackie said.

"And the little one?"

"My daughter Emily."

The old woman's eyes came to rest on Cougar. "And you? You don't look like a Jensen. Or a Vandenburg."

"This is Carla—"Jake began, but the woman in the wheelchair held up her hand. "Let the young lady speak for herself."

"I am Carla Alvarez, Señora ." Cougar replied. For several minutes, his black eyes remained locked with the old woman's blue ones. Finally, she nodded. "Yes. I remember Margaret mentioning that one of Isabel's children had a fiancée. A pity it isn't you" she said to Jackie, who merely twitched her lips into a polite smile. "As you may already have guessed", the old lady went on, "I am your grandmother, Elizabeth Steele Vandenburg. Your mother was my youngest daughter, Isabel. Once she left to marry your father, she severed all communication with me and the rest of her family. As a result, I had no idea of your existence until two months ago."

Jensen barely restrained himself from snorting. People as rich as these didn't lose all trace of their relatives unless they really wanted to. Cougar laid a hand on his back.

"Margaret tells me that your father left your mother while you were still children. Is that correct?"

"That's right" Jackie said. "I was ten and Jake was eight."

"And Isabel herself died when you were eighteen."

"Yup. Drank herself to death." Jensen said cheerfully.

The old lady looked down at her folded hands. "I tried, against my husband's wishes, to contact Isabel many times. She always refused to speak to me. She blamed me for how things turned out, although I warned her time and time again that if she was disinherited, Tom Jensen would lose all interest in her."

"Yeah well, you were right. Good for you." The hand on Jensen's back patted softly against his spine in warning. Jackie cleared her throat.

"Did she tell you anything at all about us?"

"She told us her parents were dead and that she didn't have any relatives."

The older man standing behind Elizabeth shook his head, frowning, while Margaret bit her lip. Elizabeth nodded slowly. "I see."

"That's why we were so surprised when we found out about you while we were working on Emmy's project" Jackie explained. "We knew Mom must have relatives somewhere, but we never knew they were living so close to us."

"Or _who_ they were" the man behind the old lady's chair put in.

"Or who", Jackie agreed, her face carefully neutral. She sensed Jake's tension beside her and prayed Cougar would keep him steady. If they could just get in and out of here without a major upset,she would be happy.

"What do you do for a living?" Elizabeth asked Jensen abruptly.

"I'm a systems analyst" the tech replied. This lie, spoken many times before, rolled off his tongue with ease. "Freelance. I do a lot of government work. Carla here" he hugged Cougar "is a trouble-shooter. We work together."

Elizabeth nodded and tilted her head to one side. Jensen smiled innocently back , but he had the strong feeling that the old bird didn't miss much. The man behind the chair, on the other hand, was regarding Cougar with a cynical look that Jensen found extremely offensive while his wife smiled emptily into the air.

"Mom, I gotta go to the bathroom!" Emily whispered loudly.

"Then by all means, do" Elizabeth said. "Will you take her, please?" she asked Cougar. "I want to speak to Jacob and Jacqueline alone."

Cougar acquiesced, taking Emily's hand. "There's one just back down the hall on the left" Margaret told him.

"Who _were_ those guys?" Emily asked as soon as they were out of earshot. "And why do they want to talk to Mommy and Uncle Jake?

"I don't know _mija_" Cougar found a door and cautiously peered behind it to make sure it really led to the bathroom before guiding the child inside.

"I hope we go home soon" Emily declared. "I'm hungry."

"I think we eat here."

"Do they have pizza?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"Damn it!"

Cougar couldn't bring himself to admonish her. He didn't have a good feeling about what was going back in the old woman's bedroom.

"I wanted to speak to you about your mother's trust" Elizabeth Vandenburg studied the two Jensen siblings. "It's a joint trust. Isabel's father set it up for her when she was born. It was to fund her education and her children's education. When she ran away, he left the money intact although Isabel was never allowed to access it. She was told that it would be held for the two of you."

Jackie's eyebrows went flying up. She and Jake exchanged incredulous glances. "We never heard of it", Jackie said.

"I'm not surprised. The last thing Isabel ever said to me was that I could go ahead and think of her as being dead. She had her father's pride and his stubborness. I want you to know the money is still there, and when I die, a portion of my own assets will go into it as well. Your little girl—does she go to public school?"

"Yes, she does."

"And you", the old lady turned to Jake. "Do you and your…fiancee… plan to have children?"

Jake cleared his throat awkwardly. "We've been so busy with work we really haven't had the discussion yet."

"Then I suggest you do so. Isabel's trust would enable Emily and any children you may have" Elizabeth nodded to Jake "to receive top-notch schooling. They would be able to attend any private school, and later any college or University they wished."

"What's the catch?" Jackie asked bluntly.

"Interference" Elizabeth's gaze was level. "I and the rest of the family would have a say in the decisions you make for them."

A cold chill moved down Jensen's spine. He was starting to have an idea why Isabel had run away, not to mention why she had been so bitter and full of hate throughout his and Jackie's childhood. All this money, everything she could have wanted for him and Jackie, all tied up with one little hellacious string. _"Wow",_ was all he said.

"It certainly _is _generous" Jackie said cautiously.

"The Vandenburgs take care of their own" Elizabeth said calmly. "Always have, always will. Isn't that right, Margaret?"

"Yes, Mother" Margaret answered softly. She looked down as her husband put his arm around her.

"And since Margaret and George have been unable to have children, Emily and _your _children—she nodded to Jensen—"will be the next generation of Vandenburgs."

"_If _we agree" Jensen said. "Just how much 'interfering' do you plan to do?"

Elizabeth smiled ."Only as much as necessary."

Jackie and Jensen exchanged looks again. "Is it okay if we think about it first?" Jackie asked.

"Of course. But you should let us know as soon as possible."

"We will."

"I think that's all, then." Elizabeth looked up at the man behind her chair. "You can take me around now, George. The sooner I display my old bones, the sooner I can go to bed and the rest of you can get on with your party."

It did not take long for them to find out that the Vandenburg mansion was a lot like Mr. Boddy's house in _Clue_. There were hallways and hallways and rooms upon rooms that seemed to serve purely decorative purposes. Jensen would have loved to have spent some time examining (and perhaps pocketing) the various expensive knickknacks lying around, but Cougar's frequent nudges reminded him that they couldn't afford to linger too long. Jensen was hoping they would find an office or study or something with a computer in it he could hack, and pretty soon he hit pay dirt. In a room on the second floor, just off the main stairs, he found an office complete with computer, printer, fax, filing cabinets, and probably a pneumatic tube leading directly to FedEx headquarters.

"Jackpot!" Jensen crowed. Cougar shushed him.

Grinning, Jensen seated himself behind the desk and turned on the machine. I did not take him long to find out what he wanted to know. "Okay, here it is. Isabel Diane Vandenburg, born April 23rd, 1967. Parents, Josiah Vandenburg and Elizabeth Steele Vandenburg. One older sister, Margaret, and an older brother…oh _shit!_"

Jensen stared at the screen while Cougar stared over his shoulder. "It can't be!" Jensen whispered in shock.

Cougar put both hands on his lover's shoulders, feeling winded. He didn't want to believe it either, but there was the picture, right on the screen. It showed a smallish man with dark curling hair and bright blue eyes wearing what Jensen was pretty sure was Armani.

**JONAS M. VANDENBURG DOB: 10/24/1964 Occupation: Goliath Worldwide Acquisitions Residence: Los Angeles, CA**

"Impossible. I don't fucking believe it. I _won't_ fucking believe it!" Jensen muttered as his fingers flew over the keyboard. Further digging uncovered no less than fourteen bank accounts that could be traced, one way or another, back to Jonas M. Vandenburg. The guy's net worth was in the billions, making it doubtful that he was some OTHER super-rich guy who just happened to have connections to Goliath and the middle initial "M". "Jesus!" Jensen dropped his head into his hands. "I'm related to a murdering psychopath! I think I'm gonna be sick! No wonder my mom was so fucked up! I'd drink like a fish too if this was my family. Oh wait, it IS my family! I wonder when MY murdering psychopath genes are gonna kick in-"

Cougar gave his shoulders a gentle squeeze. "You are nothing like him, _Cariño_. I know this."

Jensen leaned into the caress. He felt as though someone had kicked him in the gut while wearing steel-toed boots. "I bet he knows, too. He probably knows everything about Jackie and me, about Emmy…sonofabitch is probably just waiting to pick his moment."

"Maybe your sister had a reason other than pride for not talking to her family, eh?"

The sniper's grip tightened and he buried his face in the curve of Jensen's neck and shoulder. "Getting lipstick on my collar, Cougs?" the hacked joked weakly, only to suck in a deep breath when sharp teeth gently nibbled his ear. "Whatever it is" Cougar continued. "All you can do at this point is to tell Clay." He slid his hands down over the front of Jensen's shirt, rubbing his palms in small circles over the starched white cloth.

"I cannot believe that one of the worst discoveries of my life is making you frisky" Jensen grumbled, but he really couldn't get angry at Cougar; he never could in situations like these. Goddamn magic fingers.

"That's not it" Cougar purred softly, his hot breath making goose bumps break out all over Jensen's skin. "It's my feminine side."

"Perv." Jensen raised his mouth to Cougar's, losing himself for the moment in the taste and scent of his lover. "And I think Jackie might take exception to that last remark" Jensen went on when they came up for air.

Cougar rested his chin on top of Jensen's head. "Hurry up and print."

"Good idea." Jensen did so, wincing slightly as the laser printer whirred to life. It sounded very loud in the dark office. As soon as the papers had printed out. Jensen exited the program and turned everything off. "Here" he said, handing the papers to Cougar. "Stick these in your handbag."

Cougar did, folding the prints neatly, a smirk still curling the edges of his mouth. "I brought a few other things", he said.

"I bet you did" Jensen grinned and rolled his eyes as he turned to wrap his arms around the sniper's waist. "Unfortunately, I don't think that fucking on the beds of people you've just met is a great way to make a good first impression."

"_Who said anything about fucking?" _ Cougar moved to straddle Jensen's lap. _"Did you or did you not agree to do as you were told?"_

"Yeah, but I never thought it would be right this minute."

"_You were on the clock the instant you agreed, lover" _the sniper gave his extra-sexy, low-in-the-throat chuckle. _"At that point, I hadn't yet decided what do to with you."_

"And now you have. Okay, can you at least not get us thrown out and keep Jackie from killing me? She'll assume anything we get caught doing was _my_ idea."

"_You worry too much. And you talk too much. "_ Cougar drew a black cloth from his (or rather, Jolene's) handbag and tied it around the hacker's mouth, effectively gagging him silent. Jensen's blue eyes grew huge behind his glasses, which only made the sniper laugh again.

Jensen gripped the arms of the office chair, trying to fight down the mixture of arousal and panic rushing through his system. He could handle pain; he could handle humiliation, and he enjoyed most kinds of bondage, but being gagged always brought him to the very edge of his limit and Cougar knew it.

"_Don't move."_

_Who's moving?_ Jensen wanted to say. He couldn't have moved if he'd wanted to; not when Cougar's _very_ talented hands were working their magic on his cock and balls. He lifted his hips slightly in encouragement, only to have his hair gripped tight in Cougar's fist. "_I said don't move. Do it again and I'll make you walk downstairs in front of everyone, exactly as you are now."_

Jensen moaned around the gag, feeling his face burn. Experience had taught him that Cougar was as good as his word, and his dark suit pants couldn't hide that he had the hard-on from hell.

The sniper smiled as he slid Jensen's glasses from his face and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. Then Jensen felt buttons being unbuttoned and his zipper being unzipped and cool air hit his skin seconds before a warm, wet mouth did. The hacker growled and felt that if he held onto that office chair any harder, he'd probably break the damn thing. Cougar bit and licked and planted kisses all over his chest and stomach before sliding down onto his knees and burying his face between Jensen's thighs, nipping him through the cheap black cloth. Jensen couldn't help making a noise that sounded like "_Hnng!"_ and then prayed that Cougar wouldn't count it as 'talking'. His hands ached from gripping the chair arms, sweat sheened his brow and chest, and he was breathing hard through his nose when the sniper casually stood up and carefully re-applied lip gloss to his smirking mouth. He untied the gag and removed it as Jensen gasped in air in giant lungfuls. "Holy fuck! You mean that's _it?_"

The hacker's cheek stung as Cougar's open palm smacked against it. _"Did I tell you to speak?"_

"No si—ma'am" Jensen quivered, his eyes watering. He had never set being struck in the face as one of his absolute no-no's, primarily because he knew Cougar would never seriously hurt him while doing it, but like the gag, it was close to the bone. His breath began to hitch. Immediately concerned, Cougar kissed Jensen's cheek, lapping gently at the salty water that flowed from the corner of his eye. _"Clemencia, mi amor?"_

Jensen nodded and Cougar gave him a tender kiss on the mouth before folding him into a close embrace. It was at that point the door to the office swung open.

"Jacob Jensen! Just WHAT do you think you're doing?"

Jensen groaned and buried his face against Cougar's falsie-enhanced front at the sound of Jackie's irate voice. "I told you she'd blame me."

"It is my fault" Cougar said gallantly, but Jackie shook her head. "That may be _partly _true, but my brother is a big boy, and he's completely capable of controlling himself. I'm giving you both five minutes to get decent and get downstairs."

"Where's Emmy?" Jake asked as he buttoned and zipped himself up.

"With Aunt Margaret."

Jensen and Cougar looked at each other. Jake shot out of his chair, leaving it spinning and grabbed Cougar's hand. "We need to get her and go."

"No shit." Jackie spun on her heel and marched back down the hall towards the stairs. Jake and Cougar had to hustle to keep up. "I'm sorry, Sis! But we _were_ in there for legitimate reasons. I hacked into some of the personal records on the Vandenburg family. There's definitely a good reason why Mom wanted out of this family. You need to turn the deal down, Jackie."

"Why?" Jackie stopped at the head of the staircase and turned to stare at him. The urgent tone in her brother's voice had caught her attention. He was pale and his eyes had a funny look.

"I'll explain in the car. Let's just get out of here."

When they got downstairs, Emmy bounded off a sofa and rushed to meet them. "Can we go home _now?_" she demanded.

"Yes, we're going as soon as we tell Aunt Margaret goodbye."

"She's talking to a bunch of old ladies" Emily said, rolling her eyes. "I don't like them. All of them pinched my face and it hurt!"

"I'm sorry, honey" Jackie hugged the girl against her side as they walked. "Old ladies tend to do that. I'm sure they didn't mean to hurt you."

Margaret seemed genuinely disappointed when Jackie said they had to be going because it was getting close to Emily's bedtime. "Are you sure? I could have one of the guest beds turned down."

"I'm sure. Thank you anyway, Aunt Margaret."

"Well…" the woman stood and once again kissed the air next to Jackie's face. "Be careful driving home, and call me tomorrow, all right? I loved my sister very much; it hurt me when she went away and wouldn't talk to us anymore." Jensen fought the impulse to snort. _"When all else fails, lay on the guilt"_, he thought.

"Good night." Jackie returned the air-smooch. "And thank you. Truly."

"Okay, what freaked you out back there?" Jackie asked as soon as they were back in the car. Emmy was settled in the back next to Cougar. The sniper handed the child his cell phone. "Call your Tia Jolene, okay?"

"Okay."

"I told you that I managed to hack into some of the Vandenburg family's personal files, right? I started with Uncle George—since he's a senator I knew the CIA would have something on him. They had intel on his whole family, including Margaret, our mom, and another Uncle: Jonas Vandenburg."

"Oookay. And there's something about Jonas? He wasn't at the party, I guess. I wasn't introduced to anyone by that name."

"He's Max, Jackie."

Jackie turned to face Jake and put on the breaks, steering the SUV carefully to the shoulder of the road. _"What?"_

Jackie knew about Max. Or at least, she knew that he was a super-evil CIA spook whose job seemed to be creating global conflict. The story was fantastic, especially the part about what happened in Bolivia, but Jake had never lied to her in his life, so she had to believe him.

"He's Max. Jonas _M._ Vandenburg. Officially, his records say that he works for Goliath Worldwide Enterprises in their acquisitions department, but I managed to track down several of his bank accounts. The guy's worth billions and billions of dollars! Not even a freaking _CEO _makes that much. And if I'm right about who he is, then chances are good he knows who _we _are. Who Emmy is. This is not good, Jacks."

"But you can't be absolutely sure this is the same guy, Jake! You never even saw him."

"Clay did. And one of the files I hacked actually included a photo. It's probably not current, but if Clay can give it a positive ID, then we need to get you and Emmy out of here, pronto."

Jackie glanced over her shoulder. Emily was talking to Jolene, telling her what kind of pizza she wanted. She wasn't sure how much the child had heard, and she prayed it wasn't much. "Where in the hell would we go, Jake?" Jackie whispered. "Our whole lives are here! My job, the house, Emmy's school—"

"We'll think of something. And you'll be _alive_, that's what's important!" Jake whispered back. "I don't know if Max already told them to be on the lookout for us, and that was why they were so keen to meet us, or if it was just that Mom went underground, but either way, you can't put Emmy into their hands. Not even a little."

"What're you guys whispering about?" Emily's voice asked from the back seat.

"Presents, Emmy-boo!" Jake said with a wink. "So put your fingers in your ears."

"Whose presents? Mine? Or Mommy's? Or are you gonna fax Santa like you did last year?" Emily sat forward until Cougar gently placed his hands over her ears and shook his head. Emmy grinned up at him and sat back. Jackie wished—not for the first time—that Carlos was around often enough to act as a fulltime babysitter. The man truly had a gift; he could get Emmy to do things with just a look or subtle movement. Jackie suspected he used the same technique on her brother.

"I'll show the info to Clay when we get home" Jensen went on in an undertone. "Then we can figure out what to do. In the meantime, you need to turn the offer down as tactfully as possible."

"Okay" Jackie nodded and they got on the road again.

Emily was delighted to be at home again, and she was soon in her pajamas and seated on the couch with a plate of extra-cheese pizza. Clay, Pooch, Aisha, and Jolene were playing poker at the kitchen table. "How'd it go?" Clay asked when they got in.

"Not too good. Look at this picture, Clay, and tell me whether or not you recognize this guy." Jensen grabbed Jolene's handbag from Cougar and pulled out the printouts he'd made. Clay looked at them and did a double take. "How the-?"

"He's our uncle" Jensen said grimly. "Surprise, surprise! I wonder when they planned to let us in on _that_ little bit of info."

"First of all, my condolences. Secondly, the rest of the family may not know what he does. I'm kind of amazed this photo is even still floating around out there. The Agency is a lot of things, but sloppy isn't one of them. I think it's a warning. Or possibly a lure."

"Maybe. But I think they _do_ know. One of them is a U.S. senator, and the old bird we spoke to was a pretty scary article. Kind of what you would get if you crossed Aisha with Katharine Hepburn."

"Sorry I didn't get to meet her" Aisha said indifferently as she cleaned Pooch out of his chips. Pooch groaned. "Thank God this ain't for real cash!"

"Mom never did say why she wouldn't talk to her family, even after Dad left and we were so poor." Jackie murmured. "She just said she wouldn't go back even if it meant we had to live out of a box somewhere. Dad bought her this house—it was the one good thing he ever did—but once he was gone she crawled into the bottle and never came out."

"Well, whatever the situation is, you can't stay here" Clay said flatly. "Not if there's the slightest chance that Max knows about you. I think that the first thing you need to do is go back to California with Jolene after Christmas. Say you want to take Emmy to Disneyland or something. Pack for an extended stay and we can go from there."

"They offered us access to our mother's trust" Jackie said. "Our grandmother said our grandfather had set it up for Mom to go to college. They said they wanted Emmy to have that money for her education and all they asked for was a say in the decisions Jake and I make for her."

"All." Cougar said ironically.

Clay shook his head. "I wouldn't touch it with a ten-meter cattle prod, Jackie."

"That's what I said" Jensen rummaged three beers out of the refrigerator and handed one to Jackie and one to Cougar before opening the third. "And it's that offer that makes me think Max might be behind the whole thing."

"He may want your skills."

"I thought of that, too."

Jackie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll start getting packed tonight, but until we actually have to go, can we at least _try_ to have a normal Christmas?"

"Of course!" Clay got up from the table and gave Jackie a fierce hug. "It sucks…no doubt about it. This thing sucks big time. But it's better that you know now before you go walking into a trap. Just act as normally as possible. Did they tell you when they wanted an answer on the trust fund issue?"

"In a few days, they said."

"We'll try to be on the road before then. When you talk to them, just turn the offer down as tactfully—and realistically—as you can, okay? Say you don't want to be indebted or something."

"Okay."

"Right. Let's eat."

They helped themselves to pizza. Jolene sat with Jackie and tried to comfort her. Jake went into the family room and returned carrying Emmy on his shoulders. She was getting tall; soon she would be too big to carry, so he intended to enjoy doing it as long as he could.

Cougar sat on the kitchen counter, swinging his feet back and forth. He had kicked off the high heels, but he didn't seem to be in any hurry to get changed. Not that Jensen felt like complaining about it; he looked just as sexy sitting on the counter as he had at the Vandenburg mansion. He handed Emmy to Jackie and slipped out of the room, knowing the sniper would follow him soon.

Down in the basement, there was a large air mattress made up with warm flannel sheets. There was their gear, stacked neatly against a wall, and Cougar's Hat on one of the pillows. Jake dug into his duffel bag and came up with a small box wrapped in glittery green paper. He had kept this particular present for the past year, waiting for the right moment, and it had come down to now or never.

The door at the top of the stairs opened and closed and soft steps pattered down the stairs. "Hi Cougs" Jensen said.

"_Hola."_

The hacker turned to face his lover. Slowly he lowered himself onto one knee and bowed his head. "_Permission to speak_?" he asked, switching to Spanish.

"_Permission is granted."_

Jensen looked up and smiled. He held out the box. _"Merry Christmas, my love."_

Cougar took the gift and opened it carefully. When he saw what was inside, his dark eyes grew wide and he drew in a sharp breath. _"Does this mean—?"_

"_It means that I ask you to share my life. Always."_

The sniper did not speak for several minutes. Jensen waited, concentrating on keeping his body still despite and calming his nerves. He knew Cougar loved him, but he didn't know how the Spaniard would feel about a permanent thing. And then there was the fact that Cougar was Catholic. Despite his sexual preferences, he might still believe that real marriage was between men and women only.

When the silence stretched out and his knee began to ache from the hard basement floor, Jensen sneaked a look at Cougar's face. He was still staring into the small box like he couldn't believe what was inside.

"_It's real. I mean it", _Jensen said softly. _"And if you're going to say no, please tell me quickly, because I'm dying over here."_

Cougar sank down until he was kneeling in front of the hacker. _"I do not deserve such a gift."_ he murmured. _"You know I can give you nothing except myself."_

"_And that is more than enough for me._" Jensen reached out and took the box from Cougar. He removed the ring he had chosen from it and gently slid it onto the fourth finger of Cougar's left hand. _"I love you, Carlos. More than I've ever loved anyone except Jackie and Emmy. I do not want to imagine what my life would be like if you were not a part of it."_

The sniper gazed down at the elegant, engraved-silver band. Jensen saw his lips tremble, just slightly, before he cleared his throat and looked up and smiled. "Yes."

One little word, but that was enough. Jensen cupped his hand around the side of Cougar's face and kissed him resoundingly. He had not been given permission, but he figured Carlos would forgive him this one time.


End file.
